CHAPTER 32: WORLD WAR II

CHAPTER OUTLINE

1.AGGRESSION LEADS TO WAR IN EUROPE AND ASIA

2. EUROPE FALLS TO AXIS FORCES
3.WAR BREAKSOUT IN THE PACIFIC
4.THE ALLIES ARE VICTORIOUS

I.AGGRESSION LEADS TO WAR IN EUROPE AND ASIA

The League of Nations Attempts to keep peace

● Present Wilson's plan for world peace,established under Versailles

International Conference are Held

● Kellogg-Briand Peace Pact(named its sponsored)-the most idealistic effort towards

peace
● Frank B. Kellogg- the American secretary of state.
● Aristide Briand-premier of france.
Germany Violate the Versailles Treaty
● Germany joined the League of Nations and took part in some of the postwar efforts to
maintain peace.
● Rebuild military forces-Hitler's first step in restoring Germany's power
Fascist Aggression Goes Unchecked
● In 1935-Mussolini's Italy invaded Ethiopia,the independent African kingdom that had
resisted earlier Italian invasions.
● Haile Selassie(Hy-lee-suh-LASS-ee)- Ethiopia's Emperor,appealed to the League of
Nations,which condemned Italy for the act of aggression.
● March 1936- Hitler sent troops into the Rhineland,the region between the Rhine river
and the french border.
● Luftwaffe (LOOFT-vahf-uh)- Hitler's powerful new air force
Japan Launched A War Between China
● In July 1937,Japanese and nationalist Chinese troops clashed near Peiping(Peking).
The incident led to the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War,the beginning of World War
II.
● Japanese troops began an all-out invasion and soon overran much of eastern China.
● By 1938- Japan held Canton,Shanghai and other Coastal cities and its navy blockaded
the China coast.
Austria is Brought into the Third Reich
● Hitler sought to bring together all the German-speaking peoples
 ● Includes the large populations of Czechoslovakia,and in Poland,as well as the people of
Austria,Hitler's homeland.
● March 1938- Hitler's troops entered Austria and declared it a province of the German
Third Reich.
Hitler Moves on Czechoslovakia
● Hitler again used the principle of self determination to justify a move into
Czechoslovakia.
● Sudetenland(Soo-Dayt-in-land)- the western region along the German region.

France and Britain are Reluctant to Oppose Hitler

● Appeasement- a policy followed by France and Britain after the horror of World War 1.
● Maginot(MAZH-ih-no) Line,huge border fortifications built in 1930's,the line was a
series of massive forts and underground shelters protected by minefields.
Hitler takeover Czechoslovakia
● Despite his promise at Munich,Hitler did not stop with Sudetenland.
● On March 1939- German troops took Prague,the Czech Capital
Hitler's claims in Poland bring a crisis
● After securing the Rhineland, Austria, + Czechoslovakia, Hitler wanted Poland
● After WWI, the Allies created the Polish Corridor (strip of land that cut through Germany
to give Poland access to the sea)
● Hitler demanded that it be returned
● Hitler + Stalin had signed a Nonaggression Pact in which they agreed not to attack
each other for 10 yrs. Secretly, it also determined how they would divide Poland + stated
the USSR could take over Finland, Estonia, Latvia, + Lithuania

The Nazi-Soviet Pact Brings War

● September 1,1939- German troops marched into Poland and German forces plane
bombed railroads and cities.
● 2 days later( September 3,1939), Britain and France (The Allies) declared war, but they
couldn’t mobilize before Poland fell to Hitler.

II.EUROPE FALLS TO AXIS FORCES

HITLER'S CONQUESTS
Polands Falls to the Nazi Blitzkrieg

● Non Aggression Pact-Germans,Soviets agree not to fight each other

● Agreement included secret deal to split Poland
Germany's Lightning Attack
● September 1,1939-Hitler Launches invasion of Poland
● Britain,France declare on Germany but Poland fall quickly
● Blitzkrieg-"lightning war" Germany's new military strategy
● Planes,tanks,paratroopers used to surprised the enemy and quickly conquer
The Society Union Lands on the Baltik
 ● The society government established military base in the countries of Latvia,Lithuania
and Estonia
● In March 1940- Finland was forced to make peace and give up the disputed territory.
The Blitzkrieg Overwhelms Western Europe
● French,British mobilized along French border,wait for German attack
● Many months of no action-the "phony war"
● In April 1940- Hitler attacks and quickly captured Denmark,Norway.
Further Grain
● May 1940-Germany conquered Netherlands,Belgium and Luxembourg
● Soon after,German army reaches French coast
Rescue at Dunkirk
● German Forces trap British,french on cost at Dunkirk
● British Navy,civilians takes ships across Channel to rescue soldiers
France Falls
● June 1940-France surrenders to Germany
● Charles De Gaulle- French General,organizes oppositions to Germany
The Battle of Britain's Begin
Treat to Britain
● Winston Churchill-Becomes British prime minister, vows no surrender
● Germany plans invasion of Britain; begins with air attacks in 1940British use air force,
radar, code-breaking to resist Germany
● Battle of Britain—Air war over Britain that lasted until May 1941 Stunned by British
resistance, Hitler calls off attacked
The Mediterranean and the Eastern Front
Axis Forces Attack North Africa
● Mussolini, Italy at first neutral
● Mussolini declares war on France, Britain after German victory
● September 1940—Mussolini attacks British in North Africa
Britain Strikes Back
● December 1940—British attack and drive Italians back
● Erwin Rommel, German general, battles British in North Africa
● In 1942, Rommel first retreats then succeeds against British
The War in the Balkans
● Hitler plans to invade Soviet Union; moves to take Balkan countries
● Hitler invades Yugoslavia, Greece in April 1941; both fall quickly
Hitler Invades the Soviet Union
● Germany invades an unprepared Soviet Union in June 1941
● Soviet troops burn land as they retreat; Germans move into Russia
● Germans stopped at Leningrad, forced to undertake long siege
● Germans almost captured Moscow, but forced to pull back
The United States Aids Its Allies
American Policy
● Most Americans want to avoid war
Roosevelt fears that if allies fall, U.S. would have to fight
 ● He hopes to strengthen allies so they can resist Germany
● Lend-Lease Act—U.S. loans weapons to countries fighting Germany
● Roosevelt and Churchill meet, issue statement of principles
● Atlantic Charter—supports free trade, right to form own government

3. WAR BREAKS OUT IN THE PACIFIC

Japan’s Pacific Campaign
Japan attacks Pearl Harbor in Hawaii and brings the United States into World War II.

Surprise Attack on Pearl Harbor

Japan and the U.S.
● Japan develops plan for attacks on European colonies, U.S. bases
● In 1941 Roosevelt cuts off oil shipments to Japan
● Admiral Isoroku Yamamato plans attack on U.S. fleet in Hawaii
Day of Infamy
● Japan attacks Pearl Harbor—U.S. naval base in Hawaii—on Dec. 7, 1941
● U.S. declares war on Japan
● Japan also attacks Hong Kong, Thailand, and other islands
Gains in Many Places
● Japanese attack Philippine Islands defended by U.S., Filipino troops
● Philippine islands fall to Japanese in 1942
● Japan captures British holdings, including Hong Kong, Singapore
● Also conquers Dutch East Indies, rich in minerals
● Capture of Burma threatens India, Britain’s main possession in Asia
● Japanese forces treat conquered peoples, prisoners of war brutally
The Allies Strikes Back
Stunning Raid
● U.S. bombers attack Tokyo, other Japanese cities in April 1942
● Raid does little damage, but shows that Japan is vulnerable
The Allies Turn the Tide
● Battle of the Coral Sea—Americans stop Japanese advance, May 1942
● New kind of naval warfare—ships launch planes to fight each other
The Battle of Midway
● Japanese send powerful fleet to capture Midway Island
● Battle of Midway—U.S. destroys Japan’s naval fleet, Japan retreats
An Allied Offensive
● MacArthur’s Plan
● Douglas MacArthur—American army commander in Pacific
● Plans to “island-hop” past strongholds, attack weaker Japanese bases
● Battle of Guadalcanal—hellish battle that ends in Allied victory

4. THE ALLIES ARE VICTORIOUS

The Holocaust
During the Holocaust, Hitler’s Nazis kill 6 million Jews and 5 million other “non-Arayans.”
The Holocaust Begin
Racist Beliefs
● Hitler and Nazis say Aryans—Germanic peoples—are “master race”
● They launch the Holocaust—systematic murder of Jews and others
Anti-Semitism
● Nazis tap into long-held feeling of many Europeans against Jews
● 1935 Nuremberg Laws take away rights of German Jews
“Night of Broken Glass”
● Kristallnacht—“night of broken glass,” November 9, 1938
● Jewish homes, businesses, synagogues attacked; 100 Jews killed
A Flood of Refugees
● Fearing more violence, many German Jews flee to other countries
● Hitler favors emigration but other countries limit Jewish refugees
Isolating the Jews
● Hitler has all Jews moved to designated cities
● They are forced to live in ghettos—separate Jewish areas
● Hitler hopes that Jews in ghettos will die of disease, starvation
● Despite bad conditions, Jews survive in these areas
Final Solution
Hitler Seeks New Answer
● “Final Solution”—Hitler’s final plan for treatment of Jews
● Chooses genocide—systematic killing of an entire people
The Killings Begin
● Nazis in Eastern Europe, Soviet Union create killing squads
● They shoot men, women, children in mass executions
● Other Jews sent to concentration camps or slave labor prisons
The Final Stage
● By 1942, Nazis building huge, efficient extermination camps
● Camps separate strong from weak people
● Weak (mostly women, children, elderly, sick) killed immediately
The Survivors
● Nazis kill about six million European Jews during the war
● Fewer than four million survive
The Allied Victory
Led by the United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union, the Allies scored key victories
and won the war.

The Tide Turns on Two Fronts

The North African Campaign
● Rommel takes Tobruk, June 1942; pushes toward Egypt
● British General Montgomery attacks at El Alamein, forces Rommel back
● American forces land in Morocco, November 1942
● General Dwight D. Eisenhower—American commander in Morocco
 ● In May 1943, Rommel’s forces defeated by Allies
The Battle for Stalingrad
● German army moves to capture Soviet oil fields
● Battle of Stalingrad—Soviets, Germans battle for control of city
● German troops capture city, then surrender after long battle
The Invasion of Italy
● U.S., British forces land on, capture Sicily in 1943
● Mussolini loses power but Germans keep control of northern Italy
● Allies invade Italy, but Germans keep fighting there until war ends
The Allied Home Fonts
Mobilizing for War
● Fighting the war requires complete use of all national resources
● 17 to 18 million U.S. workers—many of them women—make weapons
● People at home face shortages of consumer goods
● Propaganda aims to inspire civilians to aid war effort
War Limits Civil Rights
● Japanese Americans face prejudice, fear
● Army puts Japanese Americans in internment camps in 1942
Victory in Europe
The D-Day Invasion
● Allies plan invasion of France; use deception to confuse Germans
● D-Day—June 6, 1944; day of “Operation Overlord” invasion of France
● Allied forces capture Normandy beaches; liberate Paris by September
The Battle of the Bulge
● U.S., British forces advance on Germany from west, Soviets from east
● Battle of the Bulge—German counterattack in December 1944
● Germans gain early success but forced to retreat
Germany’s Unconditional Surrender
● By 1945, Allied armies approach Germany from two sides
● Soviets surround Berlin in April 1945
● Hitler commits suicide
● On May 9, 1945, Germany officially surrenders, marking V-E Day
● President Roosevelt dies in April; Harry Truman becomes president
Victory In the Pacific
The Japanese in Retreat
● Allies move to retake the Philippines in late 1944Battle of Leyte Gulf leaves Japanese
navy badly damaged
● Kamikazes—Japanese pilots who fly suicide missions
● In March 1945, American forces capture Iwo Jima
● U.S. takes Okinawa in June 1945; Japan suffers huge casualties
The Japanese Surrender
● Advisors warn Truman that invasion of Japan will cost many lives
● He has alternative; powerful new weapon called atomic bomb
● Manhattan Project—secret program to develop the bomb
 ● Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, August 6, 1945; about 75,000 die
● Nagasaki bombed on August 9; 70,000 die immediately
● Japanese surrender on September 2, 1945
Europe and Japan in Ruins
World War II cost millions of human lives and billions of dollars in damages. It leaves Europe
and Japan in ruins.

Devastation in Europe
A Harvest of Destruction
● Many cities across Europe badly damaged by war
● Many people displaced by war and peace agreements
Misery Continues After the War
● Lack of food, destruction of roads, factories lead to hardship
● Many people suffer from hunger, disease after war
Postwar Governments and Politics
Need for New Leaders
● Many conquered countries went back to old governments
● New leaders needed in Germany, Italy, and France
● Communist parties make gains in Italy, France by promising change
● Communist interest fades as economies recover
The Nuremberg Trials
● Nuremberg Trials—trials of 22 Nazi leaders for war crimes
● Some Nazi leaders are executed for their actions
POSTWAR JAPAN
Serious Damage
● In war, Japan loses two million people; severe damage to many cities
Occupied Japan
● MacArthur takes charge of U.S. occupation of Japan
● Starts process of demilitarization—disbanding Japan’s armed forces
● Also launches democratization—creating democracy in Japan
● Japanese people adopt new constitution in 1947
● MacArthur puts economic reforms in place
Occupation Brings Deep Changes
Changing Japanese Society
● Emperor kept on, but he loses power and becomes figurehead
● Japanese people elect two-house legislature
● Bill of rights guarantees freedoms; women also have right to vote
● Constitution says Japan cannot attack another country
● In 1951, peace treaty with Japan signed;U.S. occupation ends
● U.S. and Japan become allies